Total stupidity of online herd mentality on display as teens challenge each other to eat Tide laundry detergent “pods”

Doctors and parents are concerned about a dangerous new trend that is sweeping the internet. Teenagers across the country are daring one another to eat poisonous laundry detergent pods, part of a so-called “Tide Pod Challenge.” In 2017, poison control centers reported more than 12,299 toxic exposures to the liquid detergent.

In a culture saturated with toxic chemicals (including the food we eat), teens are rushing to drink laundry detergent pods as a form of entertainment. Trying to impress their peers, teenagers are getting on their webcams and popping the caustic Tide laundry pods in their mouths. The colorful liquids are highly poisonous and pose severe health risks when ingested. Once inside the body, these chemicals are quickly rejected, causing diarrhea and vomiting. Stomach pain and breathing difficulties may result as the chemicals enter the bloodstream and attack the nervous system. These chemicals can also affect blood pressure and slow the heart rate, causing vital organs to shut down. None of these serious health consequences matter to these teenagers who have no clue what they are doing to their bodies.

Even when they are not ingested, these chemicals can cause burns to the mouth and skin, rashes, and severe irritation to the eyes and throat. Tide is “dedicated to the safe handling of its products” and warns parents to “keep them out of reach of children” but the company has no way to stop stupid teens that are looking for the most ridiculous way to win the Darwin awards.

Nineteen-year-old YouTuber Marc Pagan started his “Tide Pod Challenge” saying, “I cannot believe I’m about to do what I’m gonna do.” With herd mentality on full display, he continued, “I’m just bored, so I’m doing something right now that is completely stupid. I know I shouldn’t do it and I don’t want to do it, but I’m doing it.” Similar videos can be seen online, with teenagers grimacing as they bite down on the colorful Tide pods, chemicals oozing over.

The colorful Tide pods first came into the spotlight in 2015 when a toddler accidentally overdosed on the poison detergent. This led to calls for new regulations, led by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.). The focus has been to make Tide’s packaging less attractive to toddlers and teens alike. To date, ten deaths have been reported with thousands of accidental poisoning cases called in annually. This hasn’t stopped social media from hideously glamorizing the detergent goblets, with memes and hashtags idolizing Tide’s pods. One sardonic Tumblr post included a meal recipe that featured the detergent pods as an ingredient.

These caustic liquids are also full of fragrant chemicals that disrupt hormones and contribute to sinus issues. With so many safer laundry detergents on the market today, there’s really no reason to apply these caustic, hormone-disrupting, carcinogenic chemicals to clothes and wear them, let alone have them around for some toddler or idiot teen to pick them up and stick them in their mouth like they’re candy. (Related: Seven dangerous ingredients found in laundry detergents that could be harming you and the environment.)